Catching Up

I must admit, I didn't do much knitting over the weekend. (*gasp!* "so close to Christmas?" you're thinking.)

Well, it's true. My left wrist has been very sore for a few days, so I was giving it a rest.

But I did take photos 1)of a completed project:



It's another of "Fool's Gold" by Chris Church from the Knotions ezine. I LOVE this pattern. Have now completed 3 child size hats for nephews & niece. This is the niece version. I knit it double stranded using 2 colors of pink superwash wool. I think it turned out great!

Also, I couldn't resist trying the sock blank that my swap partner/friend K sent me from California. K dyed the sock blank herself and I think it's really lovely.



I've been knitting on this in public and discovering that most people don't get the concept of a sock blank. So I'll explain.

The piece of knitted fabric comes that way. I am not undoing a piece of knitted fabric that someone took the time to lovingly hand knit. It came as one piece of fabric. And it was white.

K then dyed the sock blank in the manner of her choosing, with the colors she wanted to work with.

The blank was knitted double-stranded. That means that however K dyed it, when it unravels to become the sock yarn I make the socks from, the two seperate balls of yarn (which were knit together, side-by-side, into one piece of fabric) will knit up two identical socks. [This is a huge benefit to the people who must have identical twin socks....i.e. stripes must match up when the two seperate socks are layed side by side.]

Here's a shot that shows the two seperate strands coming apart from the knitted fabric, each going to its own sock. (I am knitting two socks at once on 2 circular needles.)



I met a woman at the car dealership last week who looked at me as if this were some sort of magic. We were both getting our oil changed in our vehicles. She was a crocheter. First off, she'd never seen "such tiny knitting needles!" Then she was convinced I had knit the sock blank fabric and changed my mind when the piece turned out too small to be anything useful. She seemed mesmerized by the whole process. We chatted for 15 or 20 minutes beyond my car being ready to roll. And I got a pattern for crocheting pot scrubbies from nylon cord to boot!

What have you been working on?

Happy knitting!